Göteborgare pointed out as IS global leader

A Somali man who previously resided in a suburb of Gothenburg has now been identified by researchers as the top leader of the Islamic State (IS) globally.

Abdulkadir Mumin, born in the 1950s in Puntland, Somalia, but residing in the Gothenburg suburb of Hjällbo during the 1990s and early 2000s, has had a long career within several terrorist groups and is now said to have reached the top of IS.

During his years in Sweden, the Somali man is said to have “radicalized” in the notorious Bellevue Mosque in Gothenburg. Furthermore, he is reported to have recruited dozens of individuals to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab and also raised funds for terrorist activities, according to the news agency TT.

In 2003, Abdulkadir Mumin moved from Sweden to the United Kingdom, where he also obtained citizenship and is said to have preached in various mosques in cities such as London and Leicester.

Seven years later, in 2010, Mumin returned to his homeland of Somalia and assumed the role of spokesperson for the terrorist-designated al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with the terrorist network al-Qaeda.

Mumin’s terrorist career then continued on to the Islamic State. In 2015, Mumin is said to have pledged allegiance to IS and has since led the terrorist network’s operations in Somalia.

Researcher: Controls IS

The news agency AFP reports that researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings College in London have confirmed that the former “Gothenburger” is now the actual global leader of the Islamic State.

“He is the most important person, the most powerful, he is the one who controls the global network of the Islamic State,” says Tore Hamming of the ICSR to AFP.